Girly Kura Bed Hack

Materials: KURA bed, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge, wood primer and high gloss black spray paint.
Description: I love the look and functionality of the Kura bed but wanted to make it a little more girly to fit in with my daughter’s Paris themed room. I purchased the Kura bed from Craigslist, primed the wood with spray primer, and spray painted it black with high gloss paint.

For the panels I brushed Mod Podge glue over scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby. Hobby Lobby has so many types of scrapbook paper that you could really find any pattern to fit in to a child’s room theme. I added Christmas lights underneath the bed to give it a beautiful homey feel. My 3 year old absolutely loves her new bed and so do I!

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Jules IKEAHacker "I am Jules, the engine behind IKEAHackers and the one who keeps this site up and running. My mission is to capture all the wonderful, inspiring, clever hacks and ideas for our much loved IKEA items".

79 Responses to Girly Kura Bed Hack

Did you have to do anything special (like drill holes) to get the ladder there with headboard panel on the right? This is exactly how I want mine configured, but ladder seems to need to go on opposite side. (We are assembling right now)

I love what you have done with this bed and the room too! I have twin 3 year old girls and a seven year old girl who all love this ! I was wondering what color the walls are and what type of paint you used ..it goes so well together!

Absolutely gorgeous! I’m looking for a loft bed for my 6 year old daughter and had found a really nice one for $650 but it doesn’t have the space underneath like the Kura does, nor the reasonable price tag! I was wondering if you could tell me, is the bed really sturdy? Also, how comfortable is the thin mattress? Thank you! You’ve inspired me!

Hi Tiffany, we are living in Brazil right now, and the closest IKEA is like 6,000 miles away. We are eager to have our 3yr old son get this bed, so I would have to hire a carpenter. Could you tell us if the wood beams are actually 2×2″ as well as the heigth and width of the panels? I ordered the tent, it can reach down here but I need to know the woods size in order to clip it on without any complication. I really appreciate your help. Thanks!!

Fitted sheet or flat sheet? I didn’t put a flat sheet on, just a down feather-filled comforter and then a blanket on top. The fitted sheet stays on just fine. It doesn’t fit tight on the thin Ikea mattress, but I tuck any extra under the mattress and the bordering panels help keep it tight and in place.

Honestly, I’m not sure because I haven’t tried to remove the paper. The paper seems very secure. I’m not sure if it would pull apart as a whole, or pull apart in pieces (like a price tag sticker). If it does, maybe some warm water and Goo Gone would do the trick?

AMAZING!!!!!! I just bought a Kura bed on craigslist and was about to sand and stain dark brown for a pirate theme. However after seeing this I think I will paint black and paper the panels. What a fantastic room.

Hi there! Gorgeous makeover on that bed! We just bought a Kura bed for my son. It hasn’t arrived yet. It’s being delivered. I do have a couple of questions:

1.) How long did it take you to put the Kura bed together? Do I need to brace myself for a crazy long assembly? 2.) We want to cover the panels in vintage wallpaper. But we don’t know how many yards of wallpaper it would take. Do you have any idea?

1. Assembling this thing is not exactly an easy task. My husband and I did it together. Recently I moved my daughter’s bedroom into the larger guest room and attempted to take apart and reassemble all by myself. Nightmare! I did it, but I would never ever ever attempt to do that again. Make sure you have at least two people! 2. I’m sorry, but I’m not sure how many yards of wallpaper. Honestly, I can’t even remember how many sheets of scrapbook paper I used. I would say, when in doubt, order way more than you think you need. If you end up with extra (as I did), you can always use the extra for other crafts to spice up some accessories in the room.

Absolutely amazing! Makes me wish I had a girl♥ We’re trying to duplicate the firetruck kura bed hack… with some of our own personal touches! The scrapbook paper is hard to work with! After reading your comments, I’m hoping some of my bubbles go away too Thanks for the inspiration!!!

I love the idea and am about to do that for a client. Could you please direct me step by step on applying Modge Podge over the scrapbook paper? Once the paper was glued with Modge Podge to the wood panel did you then cover it (with Modge Podge again) to seal it or just left it as its?Thank you.

Yes! I lightly covered the wood panels with Modge Podge and then pressed the paper down on top. I then brushed A LOT of Modge Podge over the top of the paper. It brushes on white, but don’t worry…it will dry clear! It gives it a nice smooth and glossy finish!

I’m working on this project now. I painted (well my hubby painted) the bed white – Looks great! But I’m having trouble with the panels – I did 2 and found it difficult to smooth out all the bubbles. Waiting until tomorrow to do the rest after seeing how they look when they’re dry! Crossing my fingers they look ok!

My ten year old has had this bed for years & still loves it. He will be moving into a new room upon the arrival of a new baby brother & I am thinking his old bed could use a new look! Thanks for the idea!

YES! In fact most of the glue is on top! I very very lightly painted the Mod Podge on the panels before I placed the paper on top (just to give it some staying power), and then thickly brushed the Mod over the top of the paper. It will paint on white, but don’t worry…it WILL dry clear! Also, if it bubbles up, it’s ok, as it dries it will smooth itself out. The bubbling made me panic on the first panel!!

That is a good question, and I’m not exactly sure. I grabbed a thick, thick stack of it at Hobby Lobby while it was 40% off. I didn’t use all that I purchased on this project, but I didn’t want to run out before I was done and return to the store and find it all sold out! It’s better to over buy the paper you want, and then you can return any pages you have left over, or use it on another project!

The lights should not be a fire hazard. Christmas tree lights are designed to be safely used with natural Christmas trees which are, if you have ever seen one burn, like a giant can of gasoline. If they are designed to be fire safe on a tree, they are plenty safe under this bed. You do want to be sure not to install them, however, in a way that would pinch or crush the wire as that could create a shocking hazard. For the same reason, it is best, especially with a metal bed, to be sure to use a grounded set of lights (three prongs on the plug) and to plug it into a grounded outlet.

Exactly! Thank you for this response! I did my research before putting these on to ensure it would be safe. I made sure all the wires were not being pinched or crushed and also made sure that every bulb is under the slats and not touching the mattress. I’m not sure that it matters, but just took extra care.

I love what you did with the bed! I just got a Kura bed for my daughter and I’m going to use your idea with the scrapbook paper. Before I started, however, I wanted to ask which Mod Podge finish you used. I looked at Michael’s and it was overwhelming! Thanks!

Tiffany, this is beautiful and I sent this to my hubby and mentioned that you did 0 sanding and we were both like gosh we’re morons! I wish I would have seen yours before we did ours, my poor hubby worked so hard sanding and painting it. Good for you, to find an easy way that looks fantastic. I love the lights idea underneath, I think we may steal that idea!

Hi. The pictures are fantastic. I was thinking of painting the same bed darker wood as you did but thought it would look obvious in person that it was painted. Can you tell in person that it was painted? Thanks

What a great idea?! I actually work in the Children’s Department at IKEA and I think most people seem sad that the Kura bed looks so “boyish”…but here is an amazing idea on how to make it girly and fun! Thank you for sharing!

This is so pretty! My daughter is almost 7 and her Kura bed needs a makeover. We originally painted the panels with chalkboard paint so she could color on it, but she’s outgrown that now. This is a much more grownup look!

that is a really lovely bed for a little girl…I have a two year old daughter who is almost ready to give up the crib, so i was perusing this website for some room make-over inspiration. i’ve always loved the kura bed for younger children but i hate those ugly blue sides. this is exactely the type of room i would love to give her….whimsical, girly, fun for little kids, yet tasteful! thanks for posting this wonderful kura bed hack!

I am embarking on a Kura makeover in the next couple of weeks. I think it’s going to be Owl themed b/c this is the comforter that’s going on it: http://amzn.to/zN55Cp. Our daughter is getting the top bunk and our little boy is in the bottom bunk temporarily, so it was hard finding a set that had a girl/boy appeal. Any suggestions for hacking this? Dark brown frame?

Would love to know… did you lightly sand the wood at all or did you just use the spray varnish on top? It has such a light varnish on it. Also, did you use spray paint for the black, or roll/brush over the spray varnish? It looks fantastic and I have one of those beds already in our home just begging for a makeover

I did zero sanding (yay!). I took a piece of the wood up to Lowes and asked the paint people if I needed to sand and they said spray primer should work just fine, and it did! I spray painted on the primer (took about 4 cans of it), waited over night and then spray painted on the black which took about 2-3 coats (took about 4 1/2 cans of black high gloss spray paint). Lowes recommended I use high gloss because it’s more durable. I didn’t use any brushes to avoid having brush stroke lines (not that it’s a bad thing just wasn’t the look I was going for).

This was my first time priming and painting wood! If I can do it you can do it!! Good luck!

I have a three year old as well and My husband SWEARS that the spray paint is horrible for kids!! I told him “Well he is not going to be eating it”!! Did the spray paint give off any odor after it was all put together??? I do not want to use a brush, spraying it seams sooooo much easier but the hubby has such an opinion…. Do you guys know anything about kid safe paint???

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